Traveling In Misery
by Blood-On-Glass
Summary: Ed, Greed, Heinkel and Darius have been traveling together for a while now but everything is put on hold when Greed's health starts declining. Unfortunately, no one really knows how to treat a sick homunculus.


**AN: After re-watching Brotherhood for the thousandth time, I realized I needed to write a Greed story because he always intrigues me every time I watch the anime. Hope you enjoy this one.**

 **Summary: Ed, Greed, Heinkel and Darius have been traveling together for a while now but everything is put on hold when Greed's health starts declining. Unfortunately, no one really knows how to treat a sick homunculus.**

 **This story isn't as serious as it sounds, though it's not crack or anything like that, either.**

 **This takes place obviously while the four are on the run, but before they meet up with Winry and before they battle Pride and Gluttony.**

"Damn," Greed swore. "That does not look good."

The sound of roaring thunder had the four traveling companions looking up at the sky with dismay. The sky was dark, giving off a warning for what was about to come.

"Well a little rain never hurt anyone. Except maybe a certain bastard at the rank of Colonel." Ed looked at the blank stares the two chimeras and the homunculus gave him. "All right. I can see that joke went right over everyone's head."

"It may not drown us or anything, but it does make it darker outside," Heinkel pointed out. "And I'm not sure how well my animal instincts will navigate us through the dark."

"I'm with him on that one," Darius agreed.

Greed took another look at the sky. "We might have to find a town to stay in for the night. I know it's risky since we're all technically on the wanted list, but you humans have such fragile immune systems; I can't risk any of you catching something."

"I don't know whether to be insulted or touched that you care so much," Ed grumbled.

"Don't get the wrong idea, kid," Greed snarled. "I need you in peak condition. With your small body, you're at an even greater risk-"

"SMALL BODY!" Ed clenched his fists and shouted. "WHY YOU BETTER WATCH-" he stopped yelling as rain began to pour down heavily. He hunched over uncomfortably as the rain water went down his back, sending shivers through his whole body.

"We need to get out of this," Darius said.

"You don't say," Greed drawled.

"My animal instincts are telling me that this is only the start of a very bad storm," Heinkel added.

"Do you guys have to bring your animal instincts into everything?" Ed asked irritably. "Do they let you know when you have to go to the bathroom, too?"

Greed didn't give the two chimeras a chance to respond. Instead he walked ahead of everyone in the group. "There was a town listed on the map that is just a couple of miles from here. It's pretty small so hopefully the news about the four of us hasn't really spread to it yet."

It seemed logical enough, but Ed still groaned. "A couple of miles? I don't know if I can last in the rain that long."

"Aren't you the one who said a little rain never hurt anyone?" Greed called over his shoulder, not slowing down his pace.

"Yeah," Ed agreed, picking up his pace so he was walking beside Greed. "I said a little. This is not a little bit of rain. My automail doesn't do well when it gets soaked. If I'm out in it for too long, it could get ruined."

Greed stopped walking and looked at Ed. "Well what can we do about it? I can't have you running around without an arm."

Ed pondered this. "Well my leg should be okay, but my arm. . . My coat isn't thick enough."

Greed sighed and closed his eyes. "We are wasting time." He took off his long, black coat and handed it to Ed. "Will this work?"

"Well. . . Yeah," Ed said, but he didn't reach for it. "But won't you need it?"

"Why would I?" Greed asked. Ed didn't answer. "Would you just take the damn thing already? We need to get moving." Ed took the jacket and began to put it on. "Now don't get the-"

"Wrong idea," Ed finished for him. "Yeah, yeah, I know you need as all in peak condition so you can live out your selfish and greedy desires."

"Now you're getting it." Greed looked at Ed before he began moving again. The jacket was so big on him that it was funny. Not only was Ling's body taller than Ed's, but it was also much more muscular. The jacket was most definitely a few sizes too big.

"First time wearing something that's off the kid's rack?" Greed asked, only half joking.

"That's not funny," Ed grumbled, crossing his arms the best he could with the long sleeves hanging down sloppily.

"Actually-" the two chimeras began from behind him.

"NO ONE ASKED YOU!" Ed shouted, turning around. The two chimeras only smirked in response.

For the next few minutes, the only sounds around the group were the two chimeras talking softly to each other and the rain. Ed couldn't hear much of what Heinkel and Darius were saying over the sound of the water, but he did catch a few words every now-and-then that had him guessing they were talking about their lives in the military.

Greed kept quiet, not that he was much of a conversationalist anyway. Besides, Ed knew how much he and Ling fought, so he figured he was just internally arguing with the prince. He did feel guilty though as he watched Greed shiver despite an obvious attempt at suppressing it. Homunculus or not, he could still get cold. Ed didn't dare voice his concerns, however, in no mood for the snarky response he would receive from Greed. Luckily, he didn't have to think too much about it as he saw the dim glow of town lights ahead.

"It's about damn time," Heinkel grumbled. "Just when I thought we were all going to freeze to death."

Ed was relieved, too. Even through Greed's jacket and his own, he could feel the water beginning to soak through. Not to mention stormy weather always made his stumps ache and he really wanted to get off his feet.

"You going to pay for a hotel this time, Greed?" Ed asked. Usually they slept in abandoned sheds or barns or even under some trees. They very rarely slept under an actual roof.

"I suppose I should," Greed answered, surprising everyone. Ed thought it was going to be futile to even ask. Greed had money on him, but no one knew how exactly how much and he refused to say, so they never knew if Greed was trying to save what little he had left, or if he made them all sleep in barns because he was just plain greedy and didn't want to spend any of it. They also weren't sure where exactly he got the money in the first place, but that was a question no one in the group really wanted to ask. "It's a small town," Greed continued. "They probably only have one cheap hotel."

"I don't care where we sleep as long as it's warm," Darius said. Heinkel made a noise of agreement.

"Can't argue with that." Greed took the lead again and headed into the small town. It was getting late, and only a few places were still open. They saw a larger building with the word "HOTEL" written in peeling letters. It did look cheap. The four headed in the shady building, hoping there was a room available.

At the front desk there was a young lady wearing a blue dress under a black blazer. She was dressed far to nice to be working at a hotel that looked like it was slowly rotting away. Even the lobby was small and unappealing. "Oh my," she said as she took in the appearance of the four. She rang the bell on the desk and a man dressed in a shirt and tie emerged from a door behind the desk. "William, please get these men some towels." He nodded and went back through the door.

"Sorry about the floor," Darius said.

The woman scoffed. "Please don't apologize. This lobby really couldn't get any more ruined. Now while William gets the towels let me check to see what rooms are available."

"If there aren't enough beds," Greed began, looking at Ed, "I'm going to give Ling his body back so you can share with him."

Ed nodded. "Fair enough." Ed would rather share a bed with Ling anyway. "We did get swallowed by Gluttony together, after all. There isn't much else that would be more strange than that."

"That is not a story I want you to share with me," Greed said. Ed wasn't sure whether or not Greed was talking to him or Ling (which he did out loud sometimes), but he answered anyway.

"Not a story I wanted to share with you."

William emerged with big, stained towels that were probably white at some point. "Here you go, gentleman." The towels were gross, but no one in the group was in the mood to be picky, and they all took the towels gratefully and began drying themselves off.

"I've got two rooms available right next to each other, both a double queen," the woman behind the desk said brightly. "You'll each get your own beds!"

"That's lucky," Heinkel said.

"Not many people come by Yenore anymore. The town used to have more people back in the day, but then the bigger citites got built and everyone just left. Anyway, we don't have a lot of people needing to stay here. It's a miracle we're still running."

Ed looked at the cracked walls and the chipped paint. "Can't argue with that."

"I've got a key for each room, so who is staying with who?" she asked.

Heinkel and Darius stepped up. " It'll be us two in one of the rooms," Heinkel answered, taking one of the keys.

She looked surprised. "Oh. And here I thought you were the father of the blonde," she said to Heinkel, "and you were the father of the other one," she said to Darius.

"He wishes," the two of them said together as they took their key and headed up to their room, towels over their shoulder.

"I sometimes forget that I'm in the body of a fifteen year-old," Greed whispered as the woman handed him the key to his and Ed's room. "Doesn't come in much use when I want to hit a bar."

Ed thanked the woman before following Greed up to their room. "Yeah, but you seem older," Ed pointed out to the homunculus. "If that makes you feel any better." Greed didn't answer. The two headed up the stairs and reached their room as Heinkel and Darius were entering their's.

"So what's the plan?" Darius asked.

"Sleep. We'll figure it out in the morning," Greed answered, sounding tired.

"Fair warning," Heinkel said. "It's freezing in these rooms."

"Great," Greed drawled as Darius shut the door. Hey put the key in the lock to their own room and turned the knob. Once inside, Greed headed straight for one of the beds and plopped down on it.

Ed wanted to do the same, but he wanted to take care of a few things first. He reached in his bag and pulled out his toothbrush and headed for the bathroom. As soon as he opened the door, a mouse let out a squeak and sprinted toward a hole that was in the wall next to Greed's bed.

"What was that?" Greed asked, barely audible considering his face was in his pillow.

"Nothing," Ed answered with a shudder. "You're hearing things." He went back into the bathroom, and began to brush his teeth. He resisted the urge to pull back the shower curtain. If anything was living in there, he would rather not know about it.

He finished up in the bathroom and headed back into the room with the two beds. Greed had finally taken off his shoes and was now underneath the covers instead of on top of them. He was on his back, one arm draped across his face and other at his side.

"What time do we need to be up in the morning?" Ed asked him, taking off Greed's wet coat and his own, leaving him in just his shirt and pants. He was also glad to take off his wet shoes and socks.

"Whenever," Greed answered quietly with a yawn. "I'm not too worried about it."

Ed didn't point out the fact that he was always worried about it, and he didn't want to ask what changed. Instead, he shrugged and got underneath his own covers. The blankets were thick, but the room was still pretty chilly, and Ed shivered underneath them. Luckily for Ed, his exhaustion outweighed his discomfort and he found himself drifting off to sleep quickly.

 _"I'm coming back for you, Alphonse, I promise!" Ed shouted as the black tendrils began to pull him back through the door._

 _Alphonse's deteriorating body looked defeated. "No you won't. You've given up on me. You know as well as I do that it's a lost cause. I'm going to crumble away in here and there's nothing you're going to do about it. I've given up long ago; I'm surprised it took you this long to do the same."_

Ed was snapped out of his unpleasant dream by a series of horrendous sounds coming from the bed next to him. He slowly turned his head and saw Greed sitting up in his bed coughing. The fit left him breathless. "Da-amn," he swore before coughing again. One hand was on his chest while the other was trying to muffle the sound. When he was finally finished, he got out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. Ed heard him turn on the water and he figured the homunculus was getting some water. He only hoped that it would help. The coughs coming from Greed sounded painful and Ed could practically feel his own chest burn with sympathy.

The water turned off and Ed quickly turned away from Greed, hoping the homunculus didn't see that he was awake. Ed didn't want Greed to know that he had woken him up with his coughing. Ed listened to the sound of Greed getting back into his bed with a sigh. "Sorry, kid, I don't know what came over me. That's never happened before." His voice sounded rough which didn't surprise Ed at all considering how violently he had been coughing.

Ed let out a sigh of his own. No point in hiding it now. "That's all right," he insisted. "Wasn't sleeping very well anyway." It was a lie, of course. He had been sleeping just fine. He might not have been in the middle of a great dream, but at least he was sleeping. Greed scoffed, but didn't say anything. Ed slowly sat up in his own bed, biting his lip nervously. "So. . . what exactly happened? Are you. . . okay now?"

Greed was quiet for a while. "Just get back to sleep, kid."

Ed took that as a no.

The next time Ed woke up, a small hint of grey light crept through the window, indicating it was morning, but very early; no later than five for sure. He was annoyed to say the least. It was even too early for Heinkel and Darius which was saying something as the two of them always were up and ready before Ed and Greed were even fully awake.

Okay, mostly Ed.

Anyway, he was confused as to why he was up so early. Something had definitely woken him up, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was. He rolled over to face Greed's bed, thinking maybe the homunculus had started coughing again like he was last night. He sat up when he saw that the bed was empty. He was about to call out to Greed when a sound came from the bathroom, causing Ed to slowly close his mouth.

So that's what had woken him up. Greed was in the bathroom throwing up violently. Ed couldn't help but cringe at the sounds of the painful retching. After all, he had seen the things that Ling puts in his body. He couldn't imagine having all of that making a reappearance. He was torn between knocking on the bathroom door to make sure Greed was all right and pretending that he was asleep to save Greed from the embarrassment. He chose the latter figuring Greed would prefer to suffer alone. He was a man who liked his privacy and it was probably bad enough that Ling witnessed the whole ordeal and was more than likely (definitely) commenting about it. Ed lowered himself back down on the bed and turned away from the bathroom again. He listened as Greed spat into the toilet and pulled the flusher. The next sound was the faucet getting turned on. The sound of the water drowned out any other sound Greed might have been making, but it didn't last long. Soon, the water was shut off and the bathroom door opened. "Just go back to sleep," Greed mumbled before plopping down on his own bed.

Ed had no intention on doing so. He was wide awake now. He slowly lifted his head and craned his neck to stare at the homunculus. Greed's eyes were shut and his breathing was even. Ed wasn't surprised that he was asleep already. He seemed to be having a pretty rough night. Quietly, Ed got out of his own bed and padded toward the door. He made sure to not put too much weight on his automail leg as the metal always went down heavily. He slowly opened the door, cringing as it creaked loudly. He glanced back, but Greed was still out cold. He shut it quickly and headed to the room next door. He knocked softly with his automail arm.

The door opened quicker than he expected. Darius was in the doorway, looking tired yet alert at the same time.

"Oh so you two are up," Ed said. "Look, I think Greed is sick or something and I don't really know what to do."

"Yeah we know," Heinkel responded coming to the doorway. "The walls are pretty thin in this place and your bathroom is right next to our beds. We heard the whole damn thing."

"I was only awake for a little bit of it," Ed admitted, amazed that it woke Heinkel and Darius up before him.

"Probably something the prince ate," Darius pointed out logically. "We've all seen what that kid puts in his. . . or their body. It's a miracle that this hasn't happened before."

Ed wanted to agree with the chimera as it was a logical assumption. However, he knew it was more than likely not the case. "I don't know. . ." he explained to the two soldiers. "He was coughing pretty badly last night, too."

"Now that I didn't hear," Darius said.

"Me neither," Heinkel said.

"I'm surprised. It was bad." Ed sighed. "What do you think we should do?"

"Well I didn't even know that he could get sick," Heinkel said. "Him being a homunculus and all."

"It surprised me too," Ed agreed. "But I guess it does make a little bit of sense. After all, a homunculus' body is still technically human. They may be able to heal from injury, but I guess it's not exactly the case with illness. I don't know, though for all we know this might be over really quickly."

"Let's hope so," Darius grumbled.

"How are we doing on time?" Ed asked. "I mean for this whole thing."

"We are pretty ahead of schedule seeing as if we are able to keep moving we always do," Darius answered. "This shouldn't be too big of a deal."

"Well I would recommend staying here another day," Heinkel began, "but I have no idea how much he has on him."

"We'll just wait until he wakes up and then we'll talk about it. For now, I saw a sign that said they serve free breakfast here. You guys want to check and see if they are serving yet with me?"

The two shook their heads in unison. "No," Heinkel answered. "I've seen this place. I do not want to eat their food."

"My animal instincts are telling me not to put anything they serve here in my mouth," Darius added.

Ed scoffed. "Oh, please. Your animal instincts? You're part gorilla and don't apes like. . . eat their own-"

"NO WE DO NOT!" Darius yelled, shutting the door in Ed's face. Ed snickered. That was always so much fun. He headed downstairs and was instantly greeted by the smell of breakfast. There were platters of what looked to be eggs and bacon. He was hungry but even he had to admit that the chimeras might have been onto something. Usually he wasn't a picky eater, but he headed back upstairs not really wanting to risk having all of this food making a reappearance later. Especially not after what he heard coming from Greed earlier this morning. He was about to start on the steps when he started to pick up on a very unsettling conversation.

"Blonde kid," a man was explaining to a woman behind the front desk. He slowly turned around. This woman was much older than the one from last night. "He. . ." the man trailed off, looking down at a piece of paper ". . . wears his hair in a braid. He's with three others: two large, hairy men, both muscular and have military experience. The other is also a kid though my notes say he seems to be older. He's from Xing and has an odd tattoo on his hand."

The woman shook her head. "This is my first shift in three days," she explained to the man. She flipped though a book. "Emilese checked in four guests last night. . ."

Ed didn't listen to the rest. He ran back upstairs and knocked on Darius and Heinkel's door. "Change of plans," he said as soon as it opened. "We need to leave now. There's a man down there asking for us."

"So how do we get out of here?" Darius asked. "Does it sound like they are going to go room to room?"

"I'm not sure," Ed admitted. "But he had pretty good descriptions of us. And Greed still needs to-"

"What is it?" Heinkel asked as Ed trailed off.

"Greed," Ed explained. "They described Ling's body pretty well, but everything they described could be covered up easily. He could wear gloves to hide the tattoo and sunglasses to hide the fact that he's from Xing. I'll tell him to take his hair out of his ribbon just to be safe. If it's just him, though, no one should be suspecious of anything. The three of us then could use the bed sheets to climb out the window."

"I guess it's not a terrible plan," Heinkel said. "I can't think of anything better."

"I'll go get Greed up and explain everything to him." Ed headed over to his own room and opened the door. Greed was still in bed sleeping just as Ed expected he would be. He approached the bed, wishing he could let the homunculus sleep, but they really needed to get out of there if people were starting to get suspecious.

"Greed," Ed gently shook the homunculus. "Greed wake up!"

Greed groaned and lifted his head from the pillow. "Hmm?"

"Sorry but you need to get up. We have a. . . situation."

"What situation?" Greed asked, his voice sounding raspy. "What's going on?" He slowly sat up with a groan.

"There's a man down there looking for us. I guess word about the four fugitives running around finally reached this small town. Anyway, I need you to put on a disguise, go down and pay, and then meet us outside."

"Disguise?"

Ed nodded. "He knows you for being Xing and having a tattoo on your hand." Ed removed his own gloves and threw them on the bed. He then fished sunglasses out of Greed's bag and placed them next to the gloves. "If they ask for your name, make sure you don't use Ling's or any name that sounds like it's from Xing. And please do not say it's Greed!"

Greed slowly got out of the bed. "And what's the plan for you three? Going to sneak out of the window?"

"Yes actually," Ed answered.

Greed raised an eyebrow but dropped the matter. "Fine. I'll go down." He pulled the gloves on with much force. "You have small hands."

"MY HANDS ARE NORMAL SIZED FOR A FIFTEEN YEAR-OLD!" Ed yelled, though deep down inside he knew it to be untrue. "Just. . . go do your thing."

Greed put on the sunglasses and untied his hair. "Okay." He staggered the door, coughing the whole way there. Once Greed was out of the room, Ed sighed. He, Heinkel and Darius needed to act fast and once they were out of the hotel they needed to come up with a plan to find a different place where they could lay low for a while. Greed obviously won't be able to travel for a while.

Nothing will ever go smoothly for them.

 **AN: I don't know how well this turned out seeing as I wrote it past midnight and only spent about an hour on it.**


End file.
